Paradox
by Weird Lion
Summary: What if Naruto and Sasuke had role models to look up to in their times of hardship? What if the Hokage had been more strict about protecting the secret of the Jinchuuriki? OC-kind of, Paradoxical


Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me.

Enjoy!

* * *

Umino Iruka gazed over courtyard, the dewdrops glistening and the birds singing in the early morning sun. A chilly breeze rustled the leaves and fluttered the files attached to his clipboard. He yawned as scanned the pages; he loved his job but he could never love the daily early rise and shine that it called for.

He had been both dreading and looking forward to this day, the day when the new school year began. It was mayhem the first few days to try and get more than thirty hyperactive children under control but the end result of their schooling was always worth it. Being able to watch and nurture these kids and put them on the path to becoming full-fledged ninja was undeniably satisfying. As an Academy teacher, he would be the one to teach them the basics, the most fundamental and arguably the most important set of skills.

He remembered why he had chosen this career. He had never been an exceptional ninja but had always dreamed of becoming special and being remembered in the lives of many people, like a hero. Then, on one of his many C-Rank missions, he encountered an inquisitive but boisterous young girl whose off-hand words had forever changed his life. He still remembered the kid's name and what she looked like. Her name was -

He was snapped out his thoughts by the sound of running feet and yelling voices.

In the time he had been reminiscing, the sun had risen above the trees, shining brightly next to the puffy white clouds in the pleasant blue sky. When he tilted his head back down to see what had alerted him, he saw a few children racing to the Academy as their parents leisurely walked behind them, either daydreaming about their old days here or observing the place they would be sending their children to become ninja.

As more people came into the courtyard, Iruka raised his voice to get their attention. "Could everyone come check in with me before going inside?" A crowd started form around him, parents calling out their children's names before heading into the classroom.

"Aburame, Shino," quietly said a gloomy man in a beige trenchcoat with what seemed to be a smaller clone of himself beside him. "Alright," and Iruka checked off his name.

"Inuzuka, Kiba," yelled out a woman with fang tattoos and a smirk on her face. After receiving a nod from Iruka, both mother and son walked inside.

"Uzumaki, Naruto," called out a young boy with a serious, determined look on his face. Everyone fell silent as they realized who had arrived. The boy, undeterred by the glares focused upon him, strided past Iruka into the classroom with his hands in his pockets. He wore a pair of black shorts and an orange shirt. He was calm and collected, the complete opposite of the all the other children there who were bouncing off the walls with excitement and anxiety.

It took the parents a few seconds to relax their expressions and come out of their thoughts to resume checking their children in.

"Why is he here? Will my son be safe with that demon around?" whispered a woman to the lady beside her.

"Shh, don't say that out loud, you know the law. Still, if I had known that he would be attending, I wouldn't have enrolled my daughter... Should I pull her out and sign her up next year?" replied the lady.

"No, it's too late for that. But if anything happens to my son, I swear, I will m-"

"Hush! Be careful what you say. I heard that, Mayuki, you know her right, she lived next to the Haruno's, well, she said something about that kid one day in the market and by the next day, she had completely changed." And in a quieter tone she continued, "They say that the ANBU took her and interrogated her that night and she hasn't been the same since."

"I don't understand why the Sandaime made that rule. He's just an orphan brat, why would he create a law to protect that kid like that?"

"Who knows what goes through the minds of those Hokage?

* * *

Sasuke held his mother's hand as they walked to the Academy. His brother was on a mission and his father was busy with managing the police force so they couldn't come with him. So it was just him and his mother. But they were running a little late because his mother had wanted him to look "perfect" on his first day and had spent 15 minutes ironing his clothes and touching up his hair although he had repeatedly assured her it was fine and that they were going to be late.

As they rounded the corner to the Academy, Sasuke exclaimed, "There it is Mother, let's go," before quickening his pace, dragging her along with him.

"Okay, okay, " she answered with a grin on her face.

They both ran into the courtyard just as Iruka was about to head in. "You just barely made it, any later and I would've pronounced you late, Sasuke," Iruka said as he checked off the Uchiha's name. "Well then, let's go in."

They all entered and as Sasuke and his mother found their seats, Iruka closed the door behind him.

"Hello everyone, I'm glad to see that everyone made it. I am Umino Iruka, and I am one of the two co-teachers of this class. I also happen to teach the sixth years, if anyone wanted to know. My co-teacher, unfortunately, was unable to make it today due to personal reasons. But he will be back to teach by next week." Iruka paused to open the top folder on his desk. "Today I will just be summarizing the curriculum we will cover over the next few years..."

Naruto, who was sitting isolated in the top right corner of the room, silently reached into his pocket and pulled out a notebook and a pencil. He listened intently and wrote down all the important information he could gather. He looked up when he heard a break in the lecture.

"Yes, Sasuke. What is it?" Iruka said to the boy who had raised goes hand.

"When do we work on Kenjutsu and Fuuinjutsu?"

Both Naruto and Iruka were surprised by the question. Naruto had thought that he would be the only student in the Academy who would have known and even cared about Fuuinjutsu. Iruka was surprised that there was a six year old who even knew what Fuuinjutsu was.

"Oh yes, I forgot to mention those. Good question. For those of you who are unaware, Kenjutsu is the art of swords and Fuuinjutsu is the art of seals. You will begin learning the basics of Kenjutsu at the end of this year and continue until third year. After that, instead of having a separate session for Kenjutsu, there will be a combined Taijutsu/Kenjutsu session. Fuuinjutsu, however, will not be covered until your sixth year considering its difficulty and complexity. Anything else?" There was silence other than the scratching of a pencil on paper.

Iruka continued on with his first day speech answering a few questions and handing out a few pieces of paper. After his summary had ended, he notified the students and parents that they could leave. The crowd slowly exited the room, making a great commotion as they did so.

After they had all left, Iruka opened his student files, took out a brush and began to write comments in each of his students' files, signing his name and the date next to each.

He had noticed that the adults in particular had taken a special interest in the child seated in the corner, he checked his files, Naruto Uzumaki. It head seemed to be almost a sense of animosity towards the boy; he wondered why.

* * *

The students and their parents shuffled out of the classroom, smiling as they spoke, looking forward to their time there.

"Hey Mom, since our next class is after the weekend, we should buy the supplies that Iruka-sensei said we need tomorrow," said Sakura Haruno to her mother.

"Of course," answered Mebuki Haruno. Unbeknownst to Sakura, her mother's eyes were focused on the one Naruto Uzumaki.

She and her husband had been in the front lines in the confrontation of the Kyuubi so she knew exactly how dangerous that boy could be.

But there had been no incidents in the past six years.

But it could mean that the Kyuubi was lying dormant waiting for the perfect chance to lash out and once again wreak havoc on Konoha.

However, she had been present when the Hokage had guaranteed the indestructibility of the seal. Only ninja ranked chunin and above and civilians above the age of twenty-five had been invited to hear the full story of what had actually happened that day. Since then, the Hokage had taken special care to make sure that no one else learned this information.

Mebuki had mixed feelings; should she believe the sights she herself had seen or should she believe the words of her Hokage? In any case, she didn't want her daughter to associate with that demon.

"Sakura," Mebuki whispered, kneeling down to reach her daughter's ears, "You see that boy over there? He's a bad boy so don't play with him or even talk to him, okay?"

"Okay, Mom," Sakura replied hesitantly, looking at the one her mom was pointing at with a twinge of fear as well as disgust. How bad must he be that her mother had to give her a special warning about him?

Many similar conversations were taking place on the same courtyard. The one in question was completely aware of all the happenings. They gave a wide berth around him. But he was used to it; it had occurred so many times before that he was no longer fazed by it and had resigned himself to it.

"Hey, I'm Uchiha Sasuke, what's your name?"

Naruto turned around to see who had spoken. It was a boy dressed in a dark blue shirt and gray shorts. He spiky thick blue hair and rather pale skin.

"You mean me?"

"Yeah."

Naruto was shocked. Someone had just approached him. He could not comprehend what had happened and spent more than thirty seconds just digesting.

"Um, hello? Anyone there?" the kid apparently named Sasuke asked, waving his hand in front of Naruto's face.

Finally out of his stupor, Naruto replied, "Oh uh hi! I'm, I'm Uzumaki Naruto. S-sorry, I was just lost in thought. So um what did you want?"

"I was going to go to one of the training grounds to practice throwing shuriken and kunai and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me."

"Oh, um uh, why me?"

"Well you're the only one left," Sasuke said sheepishly.

Naruto looked around to see that everyone else had left either to go home for lunch or to go play at the playground with their friends.

"Then, okay. But umm, where is your mom? She was here with you wasn't she?"

"Oh, she had some errands to do so she left saying that I should be home within two hours for lunch."

He had originally planned to just go home and read up on the subjects Iruka-sensei had talked about. But this was Naruto's first and maybe only chance at making a friend and he wasn't going to squander it, "Okay so, where is this training ground you were talking about?"

* * *

Naruto had spent roughly two hours practicing with Sasuke. To be honest, it was downright fun. He wanted to practice longer but Sasuke had to return home. They promised each other that they would meet everyday after the Academy to enhance their skills and then each left in their separate ways.

When he arrived at his apartment, Naruto reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys. He picked one out and pushed it into the door lock and turned the key. The door opened and he stepped inside. He looked at the floor and seeing no other pairs of shoes said to himself, "I guess he isn't back yet," as he shook off his shoes.

Naruto placed his notebook and pencil on the table. He saw a note on the table telling him to take a shower and eat lunch so he did as it said. After the shower, he changed his clothes walked into the kitchen.

Unfortunately, there was nothing he wanted to eat in the fridge or cupboards. He grabbed Gama-chan, to Ichiraku it was!

The sun was high in the sky as he entered the small ramen shop. "One Miso Ramen, Old Man!" Naruto called out to Teuchi, the chef and owner of Ichiraku.

"Coming right out, Naruto!" Teuchi replied with a smile on his face. "Is Indra not here with you today?"

"You mean me, Teuchi-san?" said a young man who had entered the small shop just as Naruto was about to reply.

"Indra-nii!" greeted Naruto. Indra had thick, spiky blue hair tied in a high ponytail the ends of which reached the middle of his back. He was wearing the standard Konoha jounin outfit and had a forehead protector around his, you guessed it, upper arm.

Indra smirked as he explained, "I thought I would find you here. You weren't there when I went home so I knew you would be here. Oh and one chicken ramen for me Teuchi-san." Teuchi nodded an okay.

"How was your mission, Nii-san?"

"It was okay but enough about me, how was my little brother's first day at the Academy?"

"It was awesome Nii-san! Iruka-sensei covered the curriculum and I wrote it down just like you told me to. Here let me get it," Naruto rummaged through his pockets when he realized where he had left it.

"Ah, I left it on the table. I'll show you when we get home. But anyway, after class ended, a kid came up to me and said he wanted to practice throwing kunai and shuriken with me."

Indra's eyes opened in astonishment. This was the first time Naruto had told him of a friend of his. "Oh really? Did you have fun? What was his name?"

"It was so much fun! We didn't have any real weapons so we used the dull ones his brother gave him to practice with. Can we get some practice kunai and shuriken, too?" Naruto was speaking so quickly and so enthusiastically that Indra had to calm him down.

"Breathe Naruto, and yes we can get some. I suppose you'll also need some supplies for school. We'll get them this weekend alright? So what's this-"

"-Order up!" Teuchi placed two piping hot bowls of ramen on the counter. Indra stopped, any and all conversation comes after ramen consumption.

"Itadakimasu!" They both cheered, each breaking a pair of wooden chopsticks with varying degrees of success. They gulped down their first set of noodles and were soon asking for seconds and thirds. When they had both eaten their fill, Indra paid for the food and they both thanked Teuchi.

"Oh Naruto, you have a noodle left on your chin. Let me get it for you." As he helped Naruto take the noodle off, Indra mentally sighed; it was at times like these that he felt he was forgetting something, something very important.

"What is it Nii-san?" Naruto asked, noticing Indra's face of contemplation.

"Oh it's nothing... Hey, you want a piggyback ride?"

"Yeah!"

* * *

Sasuke ran home with a grin on his face. He finally found someone who he could practice with to help him one day defeat his big brother. Sasuke had shown Naruto the place where his brother practiced. They had both failed miserably but at least they were at the exact same level.

Anyone else Sasuke had tried to recruit had rejected him because they only wanted to play ninjas not practice like real ones. Hence Sasuke was ecstatic.

He ran through the Uchiha, greeting his uncles and aunts and cousins and other family members with a curt nod or a wave as he passed them by.

He ran through the doors of his house flinging of his sandals, "Hey Mom, what's for lunch?"

"You wash up first and then you can eat, you're covered in sweat and dirt," Mikoto answered as she eyed her younger soon.

"Fine."

Fifteen minutes later, Sasuke was out of the shower and was surprised to find his brother seated at the dining table.

"Itachi-nii, weren't you supposed to be back tomorrow?" Sasuke inquired as he sat next his brother.

"Well, we finished early so here I am. Hmm otouto, you seem extremely happy. Did anything interesting happen on your first day?"

"You know how you showed me your shuriken and kunai practice. I'm going to be better at it than you soon, so watch your back alright?"

"Haha," Itachi laughed as his mother set down their food and sat down herself to eat with them. "What makes you so sure about that?"

"I found someone to train with me. Apparently he wants to show up his older brother too. So, yeah, you just watch, Nii-san!"

"You'll have to introduce me to him, then."

"Me too, I also want to meet this friend of yours," Mikoto interjected. As she ate her rice, she reminisced about the times she and her elder brother had competed like her two sons did now.

They used to bicker about who was faster, stronger, more accurate, better looking.

That was, until he died in the Third Great Shinobi War. His final actions had saved the lives of hundreds, even thousands, but to her, even that could not justify the loss of her brother. She sighed as she picked at her fish.

Kushina had been the one to cheer her up and get her back on her feet. Kushina had comforted her and listened to her deepest thoughts. She had also been the one to pull her out of that dark hole of depression. Later, Kushina's sacrifice had also saved thousands of lives. Now Kushina's son, just by staying alive was carrying on his parents' legacy.

"Yeah, my new friend, his name is Naruto!" Mikoto's eyes jumped up as she heard her youngest utter the name of the son of her late best friend. Fate had the strangest way of doing its job. Mikoto smiled slightly with that thought in mind.

* * *

Both Naruto and Indra entered their small apartment. Naruto ran to the dining table and waved his notebook at Indra. They both took a seat at the table and Naruto opened the book to the page he had written and had stuffed the papers Iruka-sensei had given him.

 **Nots** :

 **Yeur 1 - Baysik Ti-jootsu, Histore, and Baysik Ken-Jootsu, Wepens**

 **Yeur 2 - Continyou, Baysik Nin-jootsu, Jeografy**

 **Yeur 3 - Continyou, Baysik Gen-jootsu**

 **Yeur 4 - Continyou, Meedyum Nin-jootsu, Meedyum Ti and Ken Jootsu**

 **Yeur 5 - Continyou, Meedyum Gen-jootsu**

 **Yeur 6 - Continyou, Baysik Fyueen-jootsu, Haard Gen, Ti, Nin, Ken Jootsu**

Indra looked disdainfully at his younger brother, "Naruto, I know you're only six but we reeaally need to work on your spelling."

"Hey! I tried my best you know!" Naruto replied indignantly as he punched his brother in the arm.

"Yes, I know, I know. So, you need more notebooks, pencils, textbooks, brush kits, and... dull practice weapons." Indra listed as he skimmed the pages Iruka had given Naruto. With a smirk on his lips, he continued, "Well since we have some time to kill, do you want to work on your spelling or your fighting?"

"Pfft, who needs spelling, anyway? Help me with my actual ninja skills Nii-san, please?" Naruto replied, shaking his brother's arm and making a puppy-dog face.

Who could resist such a cute face? "Let's go! But! We will work on your writing skills this weekend. You must work on both the Heaven as well as the Earth, got it?"

"Yes, Nii-san," Naruto grudgingly answered.

Naruto ended up leading his elder brother to the training ground Sasuke had shown him. Just as they were about to enter the clearing, they heard, "Let's go otouto, we should be getting back now." There was a rustle of leaves.

"It seems they left in the opposite direction. That's perfect because now we'll have this place all to ourselves," Indra commented with a grin.

On the other end of the clearing, two Uchihas were leaving, they had to attend an Uchiha family banquet now and were in a hurry to get back. The last time they were late, their mom had unleashed he wrath upon them.

"Why do we have to go Itachi-Nii?" Sasuke whined.

"It's because the clan elders want to see us suffer. Their only enjoyment after living for so long is seeing the suffering of the younger generation."

"So it's because they find it funny?"

"Yeah, and if you don't look uncomfortable, it's not as funny to them. So, if you act like it isn't the worst thing in the world, they'll stop having them."

"Really?!" Sasuke's eyes gleamed with astonishment.

"Yes, really." At this point, Itachi would say anything to make sure his brother didn't annoy him at the banquet. He shuddered as he remembered all the previous banquets Sasuke had been to. Nightmares they had been; Sasuke just couldn't handle social gatherings. That's why he needed to go to more, or so their mother believed. Even their father thought it was a bad idea to bring Sasuke to these banquets.

Well it was too late now, they'd have just have to bear it tonight.

* * *

I would really appreciate any reviews, thank you.


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